Man, 2014 was a weird year for DeMarcus Cousins, and it’s ending on a bad note. After losing his favorite head coach, Mike Malone, earlier this month and getting ignored when the Kings made Tyrone Corbin coach for the remainder of the year, Boogie picked up his second technical against the Celtics after throwing Marcus Smart to the ground in Sac-town’s loss in Boston this afternoon; Boogie was immediately ejected.
The Kings were already losing by 21, so it makes sense Cousins might lose his cool. He tangles with Smart when the latter tries to box him out, and eventually just throws him to the floor.
Somehow Smart also got tagged with a tech — continuing to make the NBA’s referee corps look like a Cuban sleeper agent, circa 1961 (this was a more timely simile then it might first appear, in case you don’t read the paper).
But it seems like Smart had run into Boogie on a screen earlier in the play, as the Boston Globe‘s Gary Washburn notes on Twitter:
Here is what angered Cousins before he threw Smart to the floor. #celtics #kings. pic.twitter.com/z2l0qK7Y6U
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) December 31, 2014
Depending on who you reference, ESPN has him with two, while the NBA has him with just one — after one was rescinded,* Boogie has either three or four technicals as of the end of today’s game against Boston.
Back in training camp Boogie vowed no more than five technicals this season, and he’s close to that number before the calendar has even turned to 2015.
Cousins owned up to his mistake after the game:
“We got to come together as a team, myself included; I’m the leader of this team and I got to get my stuff together as well." -Cousins
— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) December 31, 2014
What a crappy way to tip off the new year for one of our favorite players in the Association.
[*note: we think it’s three, since the one technical which was rescinded ESPN likely doesn’t count.]
(video via NBAHighlights)
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